PASIR PUTEH, Feb 28 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Wednesday extended his condolences to the family of E. Prema, a trainee of the National Service (NS) training programme who died early Wednesday.

National Service Training Department director-general Abdul Hadi Awang Kechil said Najib, who was currently abroad, had conveyed the message through him over the phone.

He was speaking to reporters after handing over RM3,000 to the victim's father Elenchelian a/l Ramasamy, 44, at Hospital Tengku Anis, here Wednesday.

"The money is contributed by the insurance company which is under the auspices of the NS training programme to help the family of the deceased," he said.

Prema, one of 402 trainees comprising former students of Sekolah Menengah Cheras, Batu 11, died after being found unconscious in a public toilet at the Jeram Linang recreational area, near here. She was found in a seating position with her head bent downwards by a NS instructor.

The trainees from the camp were undergoing training at the recreational area since Tuesday.

Prema, 18, was said to be complaining of stomach ache shortly after dinner.

She was confirmed dead by a doctor who treated her at Hospital Tengku Anis at 3.30am.

Meanwhile, Elenchelian told reporters that before joining the National Service training, Prema, the eldest of four siblings, did not suffer from any chronic disease.

Arrangements were being made by the NS programme for her burial in her hometown, Cheras, Selangor.

Meanwhile, Abdul Hadi said despite the incident, the Hutan Wira Jaya training, which was compulsory for each NS trainee, would not be cancelled, but would instead be closely monitored for their safety.

The training would allow them to be resilient and strong both physically and spiritually, he told reporters at the hospital morgue.

"Each time the training is held, we have to conduct three stages of monitoring to ensure the participants' safety," he said.

At the same time, Abdul Hadi said the NS programme would review the safety level of each area to be used for training in future.

On the incident, Abdul Hadi said the cause of Prema's death would only be known following an investigation by a forensic team from Kuala Lumpur.

28 February 2007 - Khaled Mishaal, the supreme Hamas leader, Tuesday affirmed that Russia would exert efforts with the quartet committee to lift the one year old siege imposed on the Palestinian people. Mishaal, at conclusion of a meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, said that Moscow expressed absolute understanding of the necessity to lift that siege and of starting cooperation with Palestinian national unity government.

Russia is working to draft a joint stand within the quartet committee to lift the siege, he elaborated and added that Russia expressed clear backing to the Hamas and Fatah agreement in Makkah. Mishaal, in a meeting with the Palestinian community in Moscow, said that Hamas and Fatah have agreed on reforming the PLO in its capacity as the sole representative of the Palestinian people in the international arena. He explained that the main elements of the Makkah agreement revolved around breaking the siege and securing international cooperation with the new unity government that is currently being formed. The Hamas leader stressed that the Palestinian people refuse pressures from any party whatsoever, adding, "We believe that all pressures and dictates target one goal mainly to push our people into civil war". kudusyolu

February 27 - Bosnian Muslim and Croat leaders have voiced disappointment at the International Court of Justice's decision to clear Serbia of genocide in Bosnia, while Serbs have expressed relief at the verdict.

The highest UN court said Serbia had not planned or carried out in the 1995 Bosnian Serb massacre of 8,000 Muslims at Srebrenica.

But it said Serbia had violated its obligation to prevent and punish genocide.

Haris Silajdzic, a Bosnian Muslim leader, said: "It turns out there was genocide in Bosnia but it is not known who committed it."

A guilty verdict may have meant compensation claims in the billions.

Bosnians who had long hoped for the truth about the 1992-95 war to be acknowledged felt cheated. Zeljko Komsic, a Bosnian Croat leader, said: "We who were in Bosnia know what happened here right from the beginning of the war and I know what I will teach my kids."

Serb human rights campaigners said ultranationalists who deny war crimes, or claim all were equally guilty, would gloat.

Vojislav Kostunica, Serbia's caretaker prime minister, issued a statement which did not acknowledge any Serb guilt.

"The ruling ... is particularly important because it has freed Serbia of the serious accusation that it committed genocide," he said. "Light must be shed on all war crimes and their perpetrators, and must be punished in a court of law."

At least 100,000 people died in the fighting, three quarters of them Muslims and Croats.

Bosnian Serbs using the might of the Yugoslav Army against their lighter-armed adversaries swept swathes of land clean of non-Serbs, culminating in Europe's worst atrocity since World War II, at Srebrenica.

Aleksandar Popov of the Igman Initiative group for normalising Serbia-Bosnia relations called the verdict a "symbolic slap" and predicted "gloating" by nationalists.

For Bosnian Serbs who opposed the lawsuit filed by Bosnia's Muslim-led government in 1993, the ICJ ruling established that their republic was not founded on genocide, as Silajdzic argues, and should not be dissolved.

Igor Radojicic, the speaker of the Serb Republic parliament, said: "This ruling sends a message that the survival of the Serb Republic is unquestionable."

For Fatija Suljic, 60, who lost her husband and three sons at Srebrenica, the ICJ's ruling was "a disaster for our people".

Nenad Canak, of Serbia's new Social Democrat-Liberal Democratic coalition, said of the ruling: "The only thing I can say is to remind you of the words of Primo Levi written on a wall in Dachau. 'The man who denies Auschwitz is the same one who is ready to repeat it'." Agencies

PETALING JAYA (Feb 27, 2007) - A highway concessionnaire released details of its classified agreement with the government in its prospectus for institutional investors 10 years ago, it was revealed today.

Lingkaran Trans Kota Holdings Bhd (Litrak), the concession holder for the Damansara-Puchong Highway, had in the prospectus given a summary of key terms of the agreement which was classified under the Official Secrets Act.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who revealed the prospectus in a press conference today, questioned the motive of the government for continuing to insist the agreement was under the OSA.

"The prospectus has all the details of the agreement. Works Minister Datuk S. Samy Vellu had said everything discussed in the cabinet is under the OSA.

"As such, Litrak, and its two joint global lead managers, Arab-Malaysian Merchant Bank Bhd and Barclays de Zoete Wedd Ltd, should also be investigated by the police as well for revealing the content."

Samy, who initially lambasted the four for revealing "official secrets", recently said the ministry would reveal the agreement as the premier Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had agreed to it, provided a paper was first tabled to the cabinet.

He had said the concession holders had no objections to this.

Lim said the government should drop its investigation against the four men and apologise to them for "selective prosecution and double standards".

Lim said the Litrak prospectus revealed the projected profit after tax of the company from 1997 to 2029 to be RM18.9 billion while the total construction cost was estimated at only RM1.327 billion, inclusive of capitalised interest of RM142.3 million.

"This is at least 15 times the cost that they put in," he said.

He asked whether this was why there was hesitation to make public the agreements.

"Samy Vellu should be ashamed of himself for protecting the interest of the company instead of the people by not wanting people to know about the agreement even though it was already public knowledge in 1996," he added.

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Bandar Bukit Puchong Umno defies MPSJMaria J. Dass

PETALING JAYA (Feb 27, 2007) - Bandar Bukit Puchong Umno, ordered by the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) to vacate within 30 days for illegally occupying a public playing field, has put up about 30 flag poles outside its "container office".

At last month's full-board meeting, the MPSJ issued a directive to Umno for the two containers to be removed within 30 days, failing which it will be demolished by the council. The notices were pasted on the containers on Feb 6.

Thirty poles bearing Umno and Barisan Nasional flags were found erected on the field along Jalan BP3/1 in Bandar Bukit Puchong 3 on Saturday.

When contacted, MPSJ public relations officer Azfarizal Abdul Rashid said the owners of the containers have been told to remove both the cabins and the flag poles immediately.

On Jan 27, what was supposed to be a meeting between the residents and their Member of Parliament (MP) to discuss the encroachment turned violent when a group, claiming to be from Bandar Bukit Puchong Umno, arrived with 20 others.

Resident Eugene Mark Gabriel alleged the group threatened and harassed the residents, telling them that this was an Umno matter and that they should not interfere.

Eugene claimed he was shoved and evaded a punch thrown at him by one of the men.

Residents lodged a report at the Puchong police station later that day and two Umno members were questioned.

The containers are not the case of politicians squatting illegally for their political operations. It was also reported that MPSJ councillor Aftar Singh, who is also Puchong Perdana MIC chairman, had set up his service centre on state land zoned as "open space" for the last nine years.

Early this month, when asked to comment on the matter, Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo said no one is above the law, not even political parties.

He said they (political parties) can apply for Temporary Occupation Licence (TOL) at the land office and they can remain if they get approval.

Kabul, February 27 - A Shaheed attack has killed around 20 karzai militants and american soldier, at Bagram air base in Afghanistan, where Dick Cheney, the US vice president, is visiting, international mass-media reported.

The attack occurred inside one of the security gates surrounding the heavily guarded occupation base 60km north of Kabul.

Kabir Ahmad, Bagram district puppet "governor", said: "It was a suicide bombing. It took place between the main gate and the gate guarded by american soldiers.

Zemarai Bashary, an karzai regime spokesman, said: "Reports are stating that 18 people were killed and three of them are foreign soldiers.

"The 15 others are civilian Afghan workers who wanted to enter Bagram air base for their work. On injuries we do not have exact reports." Other source informed that 18 karzai militants eliminated and at least 3 american solder have been killed.

US military officials confirmed what they called a "direct attack" on the base.

A spokeswoman for Cheney said the vice president was safe.

Senior Master Sergeant Richard Simonsen in the Bagram media office told Agence France-Presse: "We have reports of one US soldier having been killed."

Cheney stayed at the base overnight after planned talks with Hamid Karzai, were delayed by weather.

Later on Tuesday, the US vice president arrived in Kabul to meet Karzai. KC

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 (Bernama) -- The United States Tuesday praised Malaysia as its success story in the Muslim world demonstrates clearly the capacity for Islam to resume the leadership role it once played among the world's civilisations.

Speaking at an intellectual discourse, US ambassador to Malaysia Christopher J. LaFleur said Malaysia was clearly a success story in Southeast Asia, and also a success story in the Muslim world.

He said the country's economic and social achievements and its tradition of religious pluralism stood out among Muslim-majority countries in the world.

"I believe that the Malaysian example demonstrates clearly the capacity for Islam to assume once again the leadership role it played among the world's civilisations."

The US ambassador was speaking at the "The US and Malaysia in 2007: Focusing on Our Political-Economic-Commercial Relations" at Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang. The event was organised by UPM's Faculty of Human Ecology and attended by students and academicians.

Tracing back Washington-Kuala Lumpur long relationship, LaFleur said that US supported Malaysia's independence from Britain some 50 years ago and was one of the first to recognise the young nation at that time and also supported Malaysia in the Confrontation with Indonesia.

Malaysia too, he said, had backed the US in the Vietnam War and sent military personnel there to assist the US during the Cold War period.

"I believe this shows that even in the earliest years of Malaysia's existence as a nation, we shared a strong common interest in peace and stability in this region."

LaFleur said the ties between the US and Malaysia were based on a variety of common interests -- political, defence and security, in the fight against terrorism and in the economic, cultural and educational fields.

"And where we do have common interests, it's not a one-way thing favouring either side but a strong, mutually beneficial relationship that profits both sides," he added.

The U.S. has large direct investments in Malaysia and in 2004, it invested US$8.7 billion and currently about 150 U.S. firms are doing business in Malaysia including Intel, Dell, Mattel and Western Digital.

LaFleur stressed that the strong common economic ties could become even stronger with a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which both were currently negotiating.

Later speaking to Bernama, LaFleur said that America-Malaysia relationships had matured a lot compared to at the beginning of establishing diplomatic ties.

"We have a very good bilateral relations...and our leaders in fact get together more often since the current Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) and our President (George W.Bush) took office.

"Obviously, we don't agree on everything and we have frank dialogue...we respect very much what the Prime Minister (Abdullah) is attempting to do in encouraging the economic and social development in the Islamic world.

And, we also respect the fact that Malaysia represents a very important role model in practising tolerance and respect for diversity. That's an example I think many other countries might benefit," he said.

Mogadishu. February 26 (Sh.M.Network) - Inhabitants closer to Ethiopian military bases in the Somali capital Mogadishu have cut an Ethiopian flag to pieces on Monday morning.

Residents reported that the Ethiopian flag was erected three areas near the Ethiopian bases in Mogadishu. Witnesses have told Shabelle reporter Raage that people were annoyed by Somali words written in the flag indicating that Somalia is the sixth region of Ethiopia.

Ethiopian officers who spoke with Shabelle however denied they erected the flag or wrote such words on it. They have pointed out that people who wanted to create disturbances between the Ethiopians and Somalis were behind the incident.

Some of the Ethiopian soldiers who spoke Somalia said they did not come to capture Somalia. “We came here to assist the Somalia transitional government,” they said.

MEDINA, Feb 26 (Bernama) -- The glorious Islamic era when it dominated the field of knowledge can be revived if the ummah adopt the stand that all knowledge are useful or important to them, said Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

"All knowledge are needed, whether they are revealed knowledge (based on the Quran and Hadith) or Aqli (based on worldly knowledge)," he said at a dinner with 80 Malaysian students of the Medina Islamic University, last night.

Najib said from the Islamic point of view, there was no difference or "compartmentalisation" because all knowledge demonstrated the greatness of Allah SWT.

He said Muslims must learn from the past glory of Islam where the centres of learning in Cordoba and Baghdad had mastered various disciplines of knowledge and the libraries at these centres each contained two to three million books, while Europe was in "darkness".

"Medina was the place where the knowledge tradition was nurtured, and it is most important for us to continue this tradition of educational excellence by taking into account that there is no knowledge that is not useful to the Muslim ummah."

As such, he said, the Muslim ummah must master science, technology and innovations so that they would not continue to be dependent on the non-Muslim world but to build their own sources of strength.

"In fact, the Quran contains scientific elements which no one can deny even to this day. When we combine revealed knowledge with scientific knowledge, we have a new strength to achieve excellence for the Muslim ummah," he added.

Najib said the mastery of knowledge, coupled with a strong belief in Islamic unity, and non-compartmentalisation of worldly pursuits and the hereafter, were three ways of overcoming the problems faced by the Muslim ummah presently. He said the different ideologies or sects actually carried a message of unity instead of conflict.

"Many aspects of the acts of religious devotion carry messages of unity, such as performing the Haj pilgrimage where pilgrims all wear the ihram although they are from different sects, and all face the Kaaba.

"There must also be mutual respect and understanding that the existence of different sects should not lead to tension among Muslims."

Najib also said that Muslims must give equal importance to the present world and hereafter.

"There should not be any group which is only interested in worldly pursuits or only in the hereafter. On the other hand, there must be a balance in both pursuits."

Anwar's counsel Karpal Singh said Anwar was unlawfully dismissed as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister on Sept 2, 1998, as his termination contravened Article 43 (5) of the Federal Constitution which states that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong was the lawful authority to dismiss him upon advice from the prime minister.

The three-member presiding judges comprising Justices Datuk Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin, Datuk Md Raus Sharif and Datuk Heliliah Yusof heard the appeal by Anwar, 59, to set aside the High Court's decision delivered nine years ago, throwing out his application for an order to declare Mahathir's decision to dismiss him as null and void.

Karpal Singh argued that the High Court was wrong to strike out Anwar's originating summons summarily as there were triable issues to be determined by the court because there were contradictions in the termination letter and the sworn affidavit by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's confidential secretary on whether the Agong was advised prior to dismissing Anwar as required under the constitution.

He said the termination letter did not indicate that Mahathir had advised the Agong on the revocation of Anwar's appointment as deputy prime minsiter and finance minister, reports Bernama today.

Karpal Singh wants the appellate court to straight away decide on the merit of the case instead of making an order to pass the matter back to the High Court for trial. He also sought compensation.

In his application for declaration, Anwar had sought to be reinstated as a cabinet minister but in view of the current change of circumstances, Anwar now wants to be compensated.

Senior Federal Counsel Asmabi Mohamad said the King was advised and informed of the matter which was shown in two sworn affidavits by the King's confidential secretary Jaapar Wahab and Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Abdul Halim Ali.

She said the two affidavits were sufficient to prove that Mahathir had advised the Agong before he dismissed Anwar, therefore complying with the requirement of Article 43 (5).

After his sacking, Anwar was charged and found guilty of corruption and sodomy. He was jailed nine years for sodomy and six years for corrupt practice.

On appeal, the Federal Court on Sept 3, 2004, freed Anwar after setting aside his conviction and jail term for sodomy.

His application to review the conviction and sentence for corruption was, however, dismissed by the Federal Court on Sept 15, 2004.

The appellate court has deferred decision in this appeal to another date to be fixed as it needed time to consider the submissions. sun2urf

The International Court of Justice has said that the 1995 massacre of nearly 8,000 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica was genocide, confirming an earlier verdict by the UN war crimes court for the former Yugoslavia.

But in a complex judgment that took two hours to deliver, the court said it could not be established that Serbia was complicit.

Rosalyn Higgins, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) president, while delivering the ruling on Monday said: "The court concludes ... there were acts of genocide committed by members of the Bosnian Serb army [in Srebrenica]."

It is the first time that the ICJ, the UN's top court, has ruled that an event was genocide, which was made an international crime under a 1948 treaty after the Nazi Holocaust.

It is also the first time that a state has been tried for genocide.

However, in the same ruling the court has also said that the mass killings in other parts of Bosnia during the 1992-95 war did not constitute genocide.

"The court finds it has not been established by [Bosnia] that the killings amounted to genocide," Higgins said.

Ethnic cleansing

Bosnia has accused Serbia of masterminding the widespread "ethnic cleansing" of Bosnian Muslims and Croats during the 1992-95 war, saying it amounted to genocide.

In its ruling, the court said that Serbia "was making considerable military and financial support available to the [Bosnian Serb entity] Republika Srpska" during the Bosnian war, but did not make any immediate comment about specific involvement in genocide.

If the final verdict had been in favour of Bosnia, Serbia would have been liable for billions of dollars in compensation to Bosnia.

More than 100,000 people died in the Balkans war between 1992 and 1995; it triggered the break-up of the former Yugoslavia.

Bosnia's Muslims and Croats wanted to cut all ties with the capital, Belgrade, a move that was opposed by Bosnian Serbs.

About 8,000 Muslims from Srebrenica and surrounding villages were killed in July 1995. The bodies of about half have been found in more than 80 mass graves in the area.

Reactions

Serbia has said that a ruling against it will prove an unjust and lasting stigma on the state, which overthrew its wartime leader Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.

In Bosnia, now split between a Muslim-Croat federation and a SerbRepublic, sentiment is split along ethnic lines, with Muslims hoping the court will brand Serbia an aggressor.

About 50 people demonstrated outside the court on Monday in favour of a genocide verdict.

"A ruling that Serbia committed genocide in Bosnia means everything to me," said 34-year-old Hedija Krdzic who lost her husband, father and grandfather at Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia.

"Without such a ruling I fear that one day the massacre will be forgotten."

Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher reported from Sarejevo that the verdict was received by the Bosnians with "anger, resentment and even resignation".

"Because the Bosnians believed that they took the action not just for themselves but for every country threatened by genocide.

KEMAMAN, February 26, 2007 - Documentaries on the nation's non-Malay freedom fighters will be aired over Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) soon.

Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin said the immense contributions of both the Chinese and Indians during pre-independence were recorded in documentaries stored in RTM’s archive, and will be retrieved to be shown to younger Malaysians.

"The younger generation may not understand the struggle of our former leaders, including non-Malays.

"We hope the public will watch and comprehend the strenuous efforts by all races to achieve independence, in a bid to further fortify our racial unity,” he said after hosting a dinner at Kampung Beris Meraga mosque here on Sunday night.

Zainuddin said the involvement of Chinese leaders in fighting the communist insurgency and Indian army personnel from BAT69 in steadfastly fighting bandits, would also be aired over RTM’s special programme for the Merdeka celebrations.

"We have numerous such documentaries in our archive and I have directed RTM to air it," he said.

Zainuddin said RTM will also air the independence declaration made by First Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman over radio. theStarOnline

KUALA LUMPUR, 26 Feb 2007 - Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu can transform himself from "Dracula" into a saint if he makes a public apology, opposition leader Lim Kit Siang said.

Lim said Samy Vellu should apologise "for his earlier ‘bloodthirstiness’ in demanding that four opposition leaders be jailed for at least one year for blowing the whistle about the lopsided Litrak LDP concession".

Lim said this in a statement yesterday in reaction to the Works Minister’s interview in the New Sunday Times.

Samy Vellu had attributed his outburst about not being "the bad boy" of tolls to the opposition leader using the word "bloodthirsty" in reference to him and toll hikes.

"He was indirectly saying I’m a Dracula. Only a Dracula goes for blood," he said in the interview.

Lim said Samy Vellu should push for the Official Secrets Act investigation against the four opposition leaders over the toll concession to be halted.

The four were said to have announced that the government had guaranteed profits to Litrak, the concessionaire for the Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong, in the agreement.

Under Section 8 of the OSA, a conviction for an offence carries a maximum jail term of 12 months.

Lim said yesterday that "Dracula" had not entered his mind when in his statement last Feb 3 he had demanded to know why Samy Vellu was "suddenly so bloodthirsty" as to demand opposition leaders be jailed.

Meawhile, DAP Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran called on Samy Vellu not to interfere in the DAP’s affairs.

"There is no necessity for catching up in the DAP among party members. I am Kula and he is Karpal. We don’t need outsiders to advise us," Kulasegaran said in reference to Samy Vellu’s observation on the DAP in relation to the MIC.

Samy Vellu had told the New Sunday Times: "No other Indian can come up in the DAP. Karpal Singh (DAP chairman) is very strong, that’s how he has survived. And M. Kulasegaran is trying to catch up with Karpal. Wherever they contest, we know how to deal with them."

Kulasegaran said instead of griping about the DAP, Samy Vellu should think about renewal in the MIC leadership. NSTOnline

Washington, February 26 - Some of America’s top military chiefs have threatened to quit if the US decides to attack Iran, according to media reports.

As many as five generals and admirals have said they are willing to resign if faced with the prospect of having to approve a strike on Tehran.

The news comes as fears grow about a US attack, with Dick Cheney ramping up the rhetoric on Sunday when he said that all options “including military action” were on the table.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has also said his country would not withdraw from its nuclear path.

The London based Times newspaper says that sources with ties to British intelligence have said the depth of feeling amongst many of Americans top brass is strong.

The source said: “There is simply no stomach for it in the Pentagon, and a lot of people question whether such an attack would be effective or even possible.”

The paper also quoted a British defence source as saying: “Nobody wants to do it and it would be a matter of conscience for them. There are enough people who feel this would be an error of judgment too far for there to be resignations.”

But not everyone in the US thinks that an attack on Iran is inevitable.

General Peter Pace, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff in Washington, said recently there was “zero chance” of a war with Iran.

He also recently refuted claims by the Pentagon that Iran is supplying insurgents in Iraq with weapons, a view which has also been backed up by British intelligence officials. Agencies

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U.S. developing contingency plan to bomb Iran: report

Despite the Bush administration's insistence it has no plans to go to war with Iran, a Pentagon panel has been created to plan a bombing attack that could be implemented within 24 hours of getting the go-ahead from President George W. Bush, The New Yorker magazine reported in its latest issue.

The special planning group was established within the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in recent months, according to an unidentified former U.S. intelligence official cited in the article by investigative reporter Seymour Hersh in the March 4 issue.

The panel initially focused on destroying Iran's nuclear facilities and on regime change but has more recently been directed to identify targets in Iran that may be involved in supplying or aiding militants in Iraq, according to an Air Force adviser and a Pentagon consultant, who were not identified.

The consultant and a former senior intelligence official both said that U.S. military and special-operations teams had crossed the border from Iraq into Iran in pursuit of Iranian operatives, according to the article.

In response to the report, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said: "The United States is not planning to go to war with Iran. To suggest anything to the contrary is simply wrong, misleading and mischievous.

"The United States has been very clear with respect to its concerns regarding specific Iranian government activities. The president has repeatedly stated publicly that this country is going to work with allies in the region to address those concerns through diplomatic efforts," Whitman said.

Pentagon officials say they maintain contingency plans for literally dozens of potential conflicts around the world and that all plans are subject to regular and ongoing review.

The article, citing unnamed current and former U.S. officials, also said the Bush administration received intelligence from Israel that Iran had developed an intercontinental missile capable of delivering several small warheads that could reach Europe. It added the validity of that intelligence was still being debated.

The article also included an interview conducted in December with Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who said that while he had no interest in initiating another war with Israel, he was anticipating and preparing for another Israeli attack sometime this year.

Israel launched a cross-border offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon last July.

Nasrallah also said he was open to talks with Washington if such discussions "can be useful and influential in determining American policy in the region," but they would be waste of time if the purpose was to impose policy.

I am a Muslim youth belong to Rohingya community of Arakan State of Burma also known as Myanmar. My name is Kareem.

Rohingyas under serious genocidal threat in Burma since they are denied the right to citizenship in Burma in 1982.

There is no security in life and properties for us in Burma. We are facing the daily life of killings with cool blood by armies and Buddhism. Our females are used for sex as war weapons and our youth are banned the learning higher educations. Inter-marriage among us is even stopped and travellings have been totally banned inside the region. In consequence of economic crisis, the new born baby are killed by their own parents because of lack of foods and other neutrition plights.

Half of the our population have given up living Burma but they are also facing with inhumanities where they are taking a refuge. The world is ignore our plights even Muslim countries never showed a few interest in our issue.

We are unable to protect our self even our religion inside Burma and there will soon lost Islam in Arakan under extramist Junta and local Buddhism.

Please help us in any way and guide us what we should do for our future.

The size of the operation indicates that the military operation will not end soon, according to Al Jazeera's correspondent there.

The bulldozers pushed rubble into piles on main roads to make them impassable, witnesses said, while snipers took positions on rooftops in the Old City and the neighbourhood close to Raefedia hospital.

Troops placed about 50,000 people under curfew in the centre of Nablus and closed the main entrance to the city.

Jeeps blocked entries to two main hospitals in the city, al-Watani and Raefedia, said Ghassan Hamdan, a doctor there.

"We are suffering, Nablus is suffering, from this closure," Hafiz Shahine, the deputy mayor of the city told Al Jazeera, "the shops are closed and streets and blocked in the Old City, no-one can get out of their homes."

Nablus has been under seige for six years," he said.

Schools and a university in the city announced that they had cancelled studies due to the curfew.

Occupied Jerusalem, February 24 - Israel on Saturday denied a report that it has asked the United States for permission to fly its bombers over Iraq to attack Iran's nuclear plants.

Britain's The Daily Telegraph quoted an unnamed Israeli official as saying that negotiations were taking place with the US-led coalition in Iraq.

"One of the last issues we have to sort out is how we actually get to the targets in Iran. The only way to do this is to fly through US-controlled airspace in Iraq," the Israeli official told the newspaper, adding that the effort is "unprecedented” in Israel's history.

Deputy Defence Miniter Ephraim Sneh denied the report. "There has never been such a request, it is obvious," he told public radio.

He said it was the machination of "international sources who wish to dodge dealing directly with Iran and invent reports that we allegedly want to attack Iraq in order to relieve themselves from the responsibility."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had called for Israel to be wiped off the map. Iran's nuclear aims and increasing influence over the Middle East have also stirred unease in the region and the West. Agencies

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Cheney: Options open against Iran

AlJazeera, February 24 - Dick Cheney, the US vice-president, has not ruled out military action against Iran, despite saying that diplomacy was favoured to resolve Tehran's nuclear programme.

"It would be a serious mistake if a nation like Iran were to become a nuclear power," Cheney said during a joint press conference with John Howard, the Australian prime minister.

Cheney said: "All options are still on the table."

His comments came after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a report saying that Iran had not halted, and in fact had expanded, its uranium enrichment programme, defying a UN Security Council demand to stop by this week.

The United States, France and Britain have called for tougher UN Security Council sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear programme which they fear could be used to develop nuclear weapons.

Iran insists that its enrichment activities, which could make fuel for power plants or material for warheads, are for peaceful purposes.

'Persuasion'

"We've worked with the European Community and through the United Nations to put in place a set of policies to persuade the Iranians to give up their aspirations," said Cheney. "That's still our preference."

"The next step now is being debated, between our government and the others involved," he added.

Cheney also told reporters that he was concerned about Iran's "fairly aggressive" role in the Middle East.

Nicholas Burns, the US undersecretary of state, will meet senior European diplomats in London on Saturday to decide "the future course of action we want to pursue with respect to the United Nations sanctions and so forth," he said.

Officials from the five permanent Security Council nations and Germany will then meet on Monday to start work on a new resolution to try to pressure Iran to suspend enrichment.

Defiance

On Friday, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, said Tehran should stand up to the world and continue to work on its nuclear programme.

"If we show weakness in front of the enemy, the expectations will increase. But if we stand against them, because of this resistance they will retreat," Ahmadinejad said in a speech in northern Iran, the country's ISNA news agency reported.

At the United Nations, Mehdi Danesh Yazdi, Iran's deputy ambassador, accused the United States, Britain and Israel of levelling "baseless allegations" about its nuclear ambitions and insisted that Tehran had always considered weapons of mass destruction "inhumane, immoral and illegal".

He told the Security Council that his country had an "inalienable right" to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes and would not "give in to the pressures emanating from groundless and unsubstantiated allegations and ulterior political motives".

All praise belongs to Allah, Who having created us Muslims and favored us with Jihad, gave us an opportunity to conquer the Paradise. Let Peace and Welfare be with the Leader of all Mujahideen Muhammad the Prophet, with his family and his Companions, and with all those who followed his path right up to the Doomsday. And then...

Dear brothers and sisters!

On February, 23rd, 1994, President Dzhohar Dudaev by the special decree has declared this day as the Day of Rebirth of the Chechen Nation. That we have let know, that the Chechen people which has restored its own state, never will kneel and to not obey to the enemy, who during hundreds years is trying to break our will and our right to the way of life, religion and freedom.

The Chechen people meet next, 63 anniversary of a monstrous crime of Russia in the next battle. The enemy is the same, and still aspires to the purpose.

Chechen people as more than once happened in its history, has heavy time. Invaders use the most refined and artful methods of war, leaning on a piteous group of the turncoats and apostates. The genocide has accepted total forms. Physical destruction of people by means of the advanced kinds of arms, including the weapon of mass destruction (WMD), is accompanied by psychological destruction.

Dirty orders and laws, moral decay and nasty things are spread. The violence and aggression are directed not only against our state, but also on consciousness of people which enemy wish to transform in bustards, the hammered mass, not knowing neither honor, nor advantage. For this reason our religion Islam is exposed to attack first of all.

The enemy knows, what exactly Islam is our protection, a support, the ally and that source, whence people derives the strength.

The aggressor perfectly understands, what exactly the Islam is a basis of our way of life, our culture, our freedom which can be changed, only having perverted and having destroyed religion.

Therefore the enemy wages artful psychological war against Muslims, using apostates, traitors, cowards and turncoats. But, by the Mercy of Allah, such nonentities are minority among us.

Jihad continues. The lie and propagation of the enemy will not change a situation. We shall not tire, and our patience will not run low. The number of mojaheds grows.

Allah says in the Holy Qur'an: "O you who believe! Persevere and be patient, hold fast and strengthen each other, and be Godfearing, so that you may prosper". (3:200)

I address to Chechen people, to fellow citizens, to all Muslims of Caucasus, to our brothers and sisters, suffering under occupation and oppression of Russia, to battling mojaheds, the best persons among us.

Be patient for the victory comes to patient. Really, Allah Almighty and Glorious, is with us in our Jihad. Do not despond and do not cease to struggle. And when it becomes especially difficult, remember those who has no an opportunity to battle and only waits for the destination, and this is a great humiliation.

So occurs to us today, occurs by the Permission of Supreme Allah, because all this was prescribed by Him. We hope for the best.

And if others do not hasten to help, remember, that only Allah can grant a victory. And if others turn away, remember, that Allah does not turn away from the sincere believing slaves.

If struggle, struggle for the sake of Allah and Almighty Lord will strengthen numbers of the battling and will give a victory. Be not afraid of anybody except Allah and then others will be afraid you.

Know, that the victory is granted not to those who surpasses the opponent numerically or by modern military technique, but to those, who possesses God-fearing and is righteous and does not perform dirty deeds, prohibited by Allah.

So fight for the sake of Allah, be God-fearing, perform good deeds, be just, executing laws of Allah and abstaining that He has forbidden and then our Lord grants a victory, Insha'Allah!